


Melting

by helsinkibaby



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Het, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 14:51:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16389770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: After a tough day, Ellie is at home when Nick sends her a message.





	Melting

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel to my fic “The voice of experience”

Ellie was lying on her couch, channel surfing aimlessly when her phone chimed with a text message. She stretched for it, momentarily forgetting about her sore ribs and the action made her groan with pain. That, in turn, did nothing to help her sore throat and for a split second, she considered ignoring the message altogether. Still, she was stubborn enough to grit her teeth and close her fingers around the phone, turning the screen towards her so she could read the message. 

Her lips turned up at the sight of Nick’s name. “You sleeping?” 

Pursuing her lips, she quickly replied, “Nope. Too much adrenaline.” 

A speech bubble with three dots popped up right away, indicating that he was typing. It lingered there for a good two minutes before a single word message appeared. “Company?”

Ellie pressed her lips together, considering. On the one hand, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to see anyone, and she definitely wasn’t sure if she’d be able to speak. On the other, brooding probably wasn’t the best thing for her state of mind, and Nick did have a way of making her laugh. Of course, there were other reasons why she wanted to spend time with Nick but she pushed those thoughts out of her head. Before she could talk herself out of it, she sent back, “Sure.” 

She expected him to message back with an ETA. Instead there was a knock at her front door. Frowning - because surely not - she pulled herself to her feet, wincing again, and shuffled towards the front door. When she pulled it open, she was only a little surprised to see Nick standing there, holding his cell phone up to eye level and waggling it at her. “I was outside before I figured you might be sleeping,” he began. He stopped when she grinned at him and tilted her head. The movement shifted her hair, exposing the side of her face and he frowned, reaching out with his free hand to push her hair back. “Damn, Bishop,” he breathed. 

Ellie tried to make her smile a bit bigger but it hurt too much. “Yeah,” she said, surprised by how rough her voice sounded. “It looks worse than it is.” 

“I hope so.” His fingers lingered on her cheek, exerting a gentle pressure on her cheek. She took the hint, exposing her neck to his gaze. His frown deepened and she saw, as well as felt, a shiver run down his spine. One finger traced the marks on her neck ever so lightly and it was her turn to shiver. 

Her eyes locked with his, stayed trained on each other for a long moment. 

He was the one who blinked first, who stepped back and dropped his hand. “So... I stopped on the way. Brought you this.” He reached down and lifted up a plastic bag which had been beside his feet, the shape of several small Ben n’ Jerry containers clearly recognisable. “I thought it might help your throat... and I wasn’t sure what flavor you’d prefer, so I brought a little of everything...” 

Pain or no pain, it was easy to smile at how thoughtful he was. “Come in.” She closed her hand around his wrist, pulled him inside and he flashed her a grin as he pushed the door shut behind him. He dropped the bag of ice cream on her counter before pulling off his jacket, hanging it up on the coat rack beside hers. 

Her eyes lingered on it for a second and she tried not to let herself think how it looked like it belonged there. 

Pressing her lips together, she turned away from him, telling herself to get a grip. Whatever feelings she might or might not have for Nick, they were just exacerbated right now because of the heightened emotion of the day. Which was why he was here at this hour, she knew that. It didn’t mean anything. 

No matter how much she wanted it to. 

“Ellie?” Nick’s voice was gentle and she realised that her eyes were closed, that her hands were braced, arms rigid, against the kitchen counter. Tension ran through her back, making her sore muscles ache. “You ok?” His hand was warm on her back through the thin material of her t-shirt. 

Slowly, she turned her head, meeting his eyes once again and whatever he saw there had his face collapsing. “Come here,” he said and she didn’t fight him as he pulled her into his arms. One of his hands cupped the back of her head, his fingernails scraping along her scalp. The other went across her shoulders, nowhere near her aching ribs. Her hands, meanwhile, moved to slip around his waist as she buried her face in his neck and closed her eyes again. “I’ve got you,” she heard him whisper. 

She didn’t know how long they stood there like that but eventually she lifted her head from his shoulder. She opened her mouth to speak but before she could, he shook his head. “Don’t you dare apologise to me.” His hands moved to her shoulders, rubbed gently. “You took my drunken ass in off your stoop a few weeks ago, sobered me up, let me crash on your couch. All I did was bring you some ice cream.” 

“You did more than that. If you and Gibbs hadn’t go there when you did-“

“Hey.” His voice was fierce as he moved his hands so that they cupped her cheeks. “Don’t, ok? I will always be there for you, do you understand me?” 

Ellie was suddenly very aware of how close they were standing. How their bodies were pressed together, how he was looking at her. How his thumbs were sweeping up and down her cheeks. How his eyes dropped down to her lips. 

“Ellie...” 

His voice was a mere whisper, almost breathless, almost a question. 

She very much wanted to answer in the affirmative but her voice was suddenly refusing to co-operate and she couldn’t nod with the way he was holding her cheeks. Instead, she shifted slightly so that she was up on her toes, leaning in towards him and Nick took the hint, meeting her halfway. 

The kiss was brief, soft, in short nothing like she’d imagined kissing Nick Torres for real would be like. There was, however, nothing soft about the way it affected her, how it made her want to pull him close and kiss him again. And again and again and again. 

When he pulled back, Nick rested his forehead against hers. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,” he told her quietly. “It’s not just because of today...” 

“Me too.” 

When the words registered with him, he grinned broadly, running both hands down her back then back up again. “So... your ice cream is melting.” She blinked at the words and his grin grew even wider. “And here I thought I was helping you to feel better...”

There was an obvious retort and she thought he knew that. “How about I put it in the freezer,” she suggested, sliding her hands up his chest, “and you kiss me better instead?” 

Nick’s chuckle was low and amused. “I thought you’d never ask.”


End file.
